Personal Learning Style Self-Assessment

Published 29 Dec 2016

I’m of the opinion that a student’s learning style can be shaped from different experiences. Most people adhere to the notion of “trial and error” learning. Many could be like me who subscribes to a combination of learning styles. Following the quote attributed to Confucius that expresses the basic conviction that a varied learning style is not only necessary but critical to the learning style process: “I hear and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand.”

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Most people learn with using their learning-styles preferences, personally as a student, I achieve significantly better when I capitalize on predilections. Forward thinkers predict that as the rate of societal change escalates, the complexity of the inpidual’s problems will increase. As this discussion will show, most students, including myself, achieve significantly higher standardized achievement and attitude test scores when they learn through their learning-style preferences, those preferences are called “strengths,” (Dunn, 1995)

There are three major learning style categories I subscribe to; the nature of the thinking and learning processes varies with the task; the outcomes of learning require that students think in different ways and learner traits interact with learning outcomes and the thinking requirements entailed by them. The instructional and environmental learning preferences are essential to my understanding of education by virtue of location. This learning preference is supported by information processing. Finally, personality related learning preferences is the most important because it specifically addresses my strengths.

Learning style studies fundamentally focus on a discussion on the relevance of information with regard to assessment of the quality of instruction and training. (Sims, 1995) To address this issue, today’s progressive counselors serve predominantly as consultants, identifying and advancing different learning styles.

“Many theoreticians and practitioners in education place high priority on the realization of giftedness. They value the benefits to be derived from such fulfillment to the inpidual learner and to the society in which he or she lives.” (Dunn, 1993) The achievements of through learning styles of inpiduals frequently bring society’s recognition and rewards.

Learning style studies stimulate warranted discussion among educators, students, trainers, and researchers. In each area, as a student, I sought answers to questions about which learning styles are unclear or perhaps even nonexistent for my needs. I feel that face-to-face contact with the educational opportunity is critical. Even my nonverbal communication skills in the learning process are utilized in assessing communication patterns and preferred systems.

My strengths require listening to a lecture and perceive as to “what is important”. The ability to listen to a lecture and take notes for studying for the test becomes a cognitive response coupled with retaining at least 75% of what is presented. The learning technique of reading and taking notes for preparation for the taking of an examination is critical. However there are obstacles to the developed learning style. As an on-campus dormitory resident, there are additional problems that get in the way of studying, such as concentrating with someone else in the room; someone else’s need for music or quiet while concentrating; talking to friends in person, on the phone even as simply vastly different lighting needs.

To gain a better understanding of one’s self as a student, I needed to evaluate the way I prefer to learn or process information. Strengths and weaknesses can have a strong impact on my academic success in certain tasks. “It is important to identify preferred learning style so that the development of a set of strategies to capitalize on strengths and compensate for weaknesses.” (Dunn, 2000)

Because abilities differ from the student to student, it’s clear that some do not derive full benefit from the regular school program. If students are to realize their potential, there must be adjustments both in the in-school and in the out-of-school learning styles. I have found that challenging homework assignments is necessary to modify learning style used outside of the classroom. I find it important to discuss these issues as an appropriate learning style tool.

“Many researchers pide learning style into three broad categories: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Auditory learners need to hear what is going on. They quickly pick up concepts from lectures. When auditory learners solve a problem, they tend to talk it out. Visual learners need to see or make pictures of concepts. In a lecture, they might take notes, draw a diagram of the concepts or make a table of the important points.” (Lynch, 2004)

My Kinesthetic learning style requires the need to do things physically to understand concepts. I’m able build a model to physically simulate the dilemma. However, other students may use different styles together or in different situations. It is important to be aware of your particular preferred style so you can assist yourself when specific information is not available. Sometimes, this information is a style and that can provide difficulties in understanding the content.

Institutions of higher education are always looking for ways to make their educational initiatives more effective. Higher education administrators and instructors at all levels are constantly seeking to provide avenues to better learning styles that are more effective and efficient. As students, we often wonder why some find it difficult to learn whereas others find it easy. Why are there some of us better equipped to learn some skills but not others? Why can’t we all learn equally well? Student learning differs because student learning styles are different, and in my personal opinion, because the thinking process varies depending on what and when we are learning.

Hence in the purist sense of learning styles, people vary in their aptitudes for learning. This is part of how we willing we are to learn, and the styles or preferences for how they learn if they choose to. These differences impact the learning process for each student. That is, these learner traits determine to some degree if and how well any inpidual is able to learn. However, the uncertainty and fear caused by rapid change, restructuring, and is understanding also present the potential to move in ineffective and self-defeating directions.

The world has become a global village. Today’s technologies have become powerful influences in promoting social interaction and learning styles. The use of computers, electronic networks, and multimedia technologies in the classroom have at least the potential for helping with the cognitive and social processes involved in a broad range of literacy practices.

The potential to improve the quality of life on earth has never been greater. The essential elements for cooperative learning include positive interdependence, face-to-face interaction, personal responsibility, interpersonal skill development, and group processing.

“The great difficulty of education is to get experience out of ideas” (Gentry, 1990). It is hard to argue that experience will not lead to learning under the right conditions. However, it will be argued that the resultant learning can be in error unless care is taken by the business ethics teacher to ensure that those conditions occur. The purpose of this chapter is to present a model of curriculum design and business ethics teaching based on how different people think and learn. The model is organized around a theory that describes both experiential learning and learning styles.

In essence, the goal of this discussion is to demonstrate the personal success of my learning style. My personal understanding of the psychology of the learning style process is to cope more successfully with exams, research and homework assignments. Both the popular and the research literature have focused on learning style as viewed from the outside that is, on the nature of the learning style itself.

We focus on learning style as viewed from the inside, by doing the assignments. However many educational benefits will accrue from understanding the wide range of inpidual differences among learners in the way they prefer to function in the educational system.

References

  • Dunn, Rita Multiculturalism and Learning Style: Teaching and Counseling Adolescents. Contributors: Publisher: Praeger. Place of Publication: Westport, CT. Publication Year: 1995. Page Number: 13.
  • Sims, Ronald R. The Importance of Learning Styles: Understanding the Implications for Learning, Course Design, and Education. Publisher: Greenwood Press. Place of Publication: Westport, CT. Publication Year: 1995. Page Number: 25.
  • Dunn, Rita Teaching and Counseling Gifted and Talented Adolescents: An International Learning Style Perspective. Publisher: Praeger Publishers. Place of Publication: Westport, CT. Publication Year: 1993. Page Number: 3.
  • Dunn, Rita Practical Approaches to Using Learning Styles in Higher Education. Publisher: Bergin & Garvey. Place of Publication: Westport, CT. Publication Year: 2000. Page Number: 3.
  • Lynch, Maggie Mcvay Learning Online: A Guide to Success in the Virtual Classroom. Publisher: RoutledgeFalmer. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 2004. Page Number: 128.
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